Gender Gap: Barriers Faced by Women Entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs are defined as women or a group of women who initiate, organize, and operate a business enterprise. As per Government of India, women enterprise is “an enterprise owned and controlled by a woman having a minimum financial interest of 51% of the capital and giving at least 51% of employment generated in the enterprise to women.”

As per a survey conducted in the year of 2017 in India, only 2% of the start-up fund went to a women entrepreneur. Going by these statistics, it is somewhat clear that countries such as India need to foster more on women entrepreneurship and create sustainability.

Socio-Cultural Barriers is one of the main issues which women face when entering the field of entrepreneurship. Women have to perform multiple roles in the aspect of familial or social perspective. In fact, it has been proven by a couple of studies that female entrepreneurship is hindered more by social and cultural constraints rather than access to finance. A female is supposed to look after family, especially the kids and juggling entrepreneurship with balancing life at home can be cumbersome for many. Not all of the females aspiring to be entrepreneurs have domestic assistance and this is when multitasking might serve as a hindrance towards the entrepreneurial aspirations of a woman. This is one of the major reasons why many women find it difficult to internalize leadership identity.

Another barrier faced by women wanting to start their own business is Finance, which is arguably the lifeblood of business. That is why it is essential for women entrepreneurs to approach for financial assistance when the need arises. At times, there is an absence of tangible security or collateral security that many women might face. According to the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), women entrepreneurs expanding their businesses have financing needs that exceed micro-credit ceilings. Also, many women seek capital to be sourced from personal networks and not from the banks.